Saif Ali Khan welcomed baby Taimur with wife Kareena Kapoor
last year and now he is playing a father in Chef. The film, the official Hindi
remake of Jon Favreau’s film of the same name, has got a lot of positive buzz.
SpotboyE.com sat down with the talented actor and Chef’s director Raja Krishna
Menon for a chat. Excerpts:
How does one go about convincing Saif Ali Khan?
Saif: I think you say, ‘It’s up to you, but this is what
we think you should do, but if you don’t want to do it, it’s fine.’ And then I
will do it. But if you say, ‘You have to do it’, I get stressed. If you give me
the space I will do whatever you want.
So, did Saif trouble you while shooting?
Menon: I troubled him far more than he troubled me.
Saif: When you are shooting, time is money and light is
king.
Do you think the concept of food trucks will ever
catch up in India?
Raja: It will be huge. The problem right now is licensing
etc. It will definitely pick up.
What sort of difficulties did you face while adapting
a Hollywood movie? How did you add local flavour?
Raja: I think you need to find the key reasons to adapt
and those reasons have to be important enough to the adaptation. So unless you
find those really key points that translate into the Indian scenario, you
shouldn’t adapt. There are very few films that can be adapted.
Saif: It’s a cultural phenomenon. The film represents a
culture and each section of India is so different.
Are you scared about the comparisons that will be made
between the original and this?
Saif: There’s enough difference. We haven’t remade a
film. Yes, comparisons can be there. I think Chef is more of an Indian film
than an American film. The idea of a divorce in a father and son’s relationship
is a new urban thing for India. So it represents something.
Raja: Some people would say that I liked the original film
better. It’s a different film, different characters, emotions and story.
Did your relation with Ibrahim (Saif’s son) help you
in any way with this film?
Saif: Yes, of course. The way you look at a young kid or
a teenager, if you don’t know what you are talking about, you tend to overdo
things.
Raja: It would have been very difficult for me to direct
this film with someone who wasn’t a parent. It’s so unique – Ibrahim and Saif,
that bond is important.
Saif, when did you learn cooking?
Saif: We did a lot of practice for the film. The film is
not about cooking but it’s there but when it’s there, it should look like he’s
an expert. I learnt how to chop onions, garlic properly.
And in reality, when did you start cooking?
Saif: I do it on and off. I cook pasta, dal, kebabs for
my friends.
Who is a better cook – you or Kareena?
Saif: I have to say me at the moment but she makes
breakfast nicely like burji etc.
Do you both argue over food?
Saif: No, not really. Even at home, she generally eats
healthy food all the time. I eat a lot of meat.
It is said that men are better chefs – do you agree?
Saif: Not in my family. My mother is a great cook, my
father was a very good cook too. I don’t know how the gender thing works.
Raja: Great cooks are great cooks.
But women are the one who handle everything at the end
of the day...
Raja: But job in a commercial kitchen, it’s hard. And
women are just smarter. Women in an Indian scenario end up cooking but I don’t
know how much they enjoy cooking all the time?
Don’t you think that the easiest formula these days is
an adaptation/remake/biopic? Do you think that there is lack of original
content in our industry?
Raja: It hasn’t been a great year for the industry in
terms of blockbusters. But smaller films that are working are very inspiring –
there is a lot of original content. There is a rush to make biopics, which is
silly. There are very few films that should be adapted. And I am not
saying this because I have made one.
Saif: Not just in India but there are so many American
films that have been adapted from Japanese culture but when you get down to
making a film, it should be creative.
Raja: The idea is not to make a frame-by-frame remake.
That is silly.
Saif, Chandan Roy Sanyal plays your friend, who leaves
his life behind to become your man-Friday. Do you have a friend who would do
that for you in real life?
Saif: I don’t know if someone would leave their comfort
zone. I don’t know if I know people like that. I hope so. It would be quite
demanding of me to expect them to move.
Everyone thought that Akshay Kumar would be your first
choice for this film considering that he used to be a chef. How did Saif come
into the picture?
Raja: I never thought of anyone else. Saif was the
character before I agreed to do the film. When Vikram Malhotra came to me while
I was shooting Airlift, he asked me, ‘Who do you think is best suited for the
role?’. It took me a second and I said Saif Ali Khan. I didn’t know him at that
point. I wanted him in my first film, interestingly. I think there are certain
elements of the character in Saif. I have a relation with Akshay but Saif was
more fitted for this role.
Saif you recently shot with Akshay Kumar and danced
together after 23 years. How was it?
Saif: Very nice. Akshay hasn’t changed at all. He has
always been a down- to- earth, funny and warm person. He made us very
comfortable on his show. I am so happy for his super success. When we started
out, we used to do all kinds of films. Both of us lacked certain qualities that
we made up for in each other and together formed a super person, which is what
pairs do.
But the kind of films he is doing now is inspirational to
me and it’s a zone I should be in.
If given a chance, which biopic would you be a part
of?
Saif: I don’t know. Biopics are interesting because
people’s real lives are so much interesting than a made-up story. So, I see the
appeal.
In the Hollywood film Jon Favreau plays a balding,
pot-bellied, middle-aged man. But in the remake you are in great shape. Do you
think good looks are of foremost importance in Bollywood?
Saif: Yes, I think there is a lot of focus on looks.
These are deep social issues. But that is changing, for example what Aamir did
in Dangal. And Raja also told me not to work out and he was happy if I was a
little bit over-weight. He didn’t want muscles and a ripped body. Nobody trusts
a thin chef. But this preoccupation with looks is a universal phenomenon. Even
in America it is mandatory for an actor to have six packs. It takes a lot of
guts for an actor to show his non-appealing side. It comes with maturity and an
understanding of cinema.
You are not on social media, do you plan on joining?
Saif: No, I am not on social media. The internet is
amazing. Maybe I will join social media one day, I have nothing against it. I
just find it a little scary to look for validation. I find myself getting
obsessed with what people are saying – and that’s not how I want to live.
People are missing out on life.
Image Source: APH Images, youtube/T-Series & india